A Quiet Life Or Maybe Not
by fangirl1990
Summary: Danika Jones comes to Malfoy Manor to work with Narcissa on her biography and that of her family while fleeing the emotional storm caused by her ex and her sister. She has come to make a life for herself away from them. But when Draco Malfoy shows up, all of her hopes for a quiet life fly out the window. And soon hope for a new romance begins to grow. But can she trust again?
1. Chapter 1: The Interview

"Mrs. Malfoy, your home is absolutely beautiful!" Dani exclaimed as she walked back into the opulent sitting room. Narcissa Malfoy sat on the small love seat sipping from a delicate tea cup.

"Thank you, dear. And please, Danika, you must call me Narcissa. I won't tell you again." she chided with a smile on her aristocratic face.

"Okay, Narcissa. Please just call me Dani, everyone else always has." Dani said as she sat down on one of the high backed victorian chairs across from the love seat.

Narcissa placed her tea cup on the coffee table between them and cleared her throat. She looked into Dani's eyes and said, "Dani, I wanted to speak with you in person about the job offer because I believe one can tell far more about a person's character face-to-face than in a letter. You see, my family, and my late husband's family, have a history that is marred with darkness. Often, my son and I encounter people who will say, and do, anything to insinuate themselves into our lives for many nefarious reasons. Money, notariety, gossip, and even information about our family members, past and present, and their exploits are just some of the reasons people have found their way into our lives. My husband was involved with Voldemort and was a convicted Death Eater, my sister and her husband were as well. Both of our families were prejudiced against anyone that was not of pure blood descent. I make no excuses for their actions, I never have. They were wrong. It is as simple as that. I do not excuse them, nor do I follow by their examples now that I have a choice in the matter. Since I began taking applications for this position, I have encountered several individuals that thought that I would appreciate their horrid ideals as my husband would have. So I must ask you now, before we go any further, why you want this job and what your personal feelings are on a few topics. Is this agreeable?"

"Of course you may ask me anything. I'm an open book." Dani said with a smile. She had done research on Narcissa Malfoy before she wrote to her to ask about the job in the first place. Dani didn't want to jump in blindly without any idea of who she would be living and working with. "I want this job because I've always wanted to see what the wizard world was like here. It seems far different from our lives in America. I love history and writing, as I told you in my letters, which would come in handy when, if chosen, I begin to help you write your biography and that of you family. Also..." Dani took a deep, calming breath to gather her courage before disclosing the main reason for her wanting this job so far from home. "I recently dealt with a very harsh personal issue. I found out that my sister was having an affair with my boyfriend of seven years. We were planning to get engaged, but he seemed like he was putting it off, and she kept telling me to be patient and wait for him to be ready to settle down. One night, I came home early from visiting my brother and his wife to find Brian and Diana... "

Dani had to stop. The pain was still there, not as sharp as it had been three months before, but there. To make matters worse, now Brian and Diana were engaged! And not only that, but Diana had somehow found the nerve to ask Danika to be her maid of honor! Seven years she spent with him, nursing him through illnesses, supporting him when he left job after job, allowing him to run her life, destroy her friendships, ruin her chances at more fantastic jobs than she cared to remember through his rudeness and bad behavior toward her would be employers, and for what? For him to shack up with her twin sister, in Dani's house no less! It infuriated her to to end. Just thinking about him, them, and the whole situation made her see red.

"Oh dear!" Narcissa exclaimed.

"They became engaged about a month after I threw him out of my house, and then my sister had the nerve to come to me wanting advice about how to deal with him and asking me to stand beside her during their wedding." Dani looked the woman squarely in the eye and said, "I just couldn't stay there. Not out of jealousy, honestly I'm pleased as punch to finally be done with the controlling jerk, but because my own sister, my twin, betrayed me in such a way. It was just too much for me. I had to get away and England seems plenty far enough. Even if you decide not to give me the job, I won't be returning to America any time soon."

Narcissa seemed to be thinking everything Dani had told her over. She picked up her tea cup and took a few thoughtful sips before giving Dani a sad smile.

"I can honestly say my heart breaks for you, dear Dani. I can only imagine how their betrayal felt for you. Sometimes, it is one's family that can cut one the deepest." her eyes seemed to hold shadows within their depths. Dani knew that this woman had been hurt by her family in some way. Dani's research had not turned up much beyond the basic facts about the Malfoy and Black families, so she had no idea as to what wounds the woman had endured in her past.

"Thank you for your sympathy, ma'am. But I don't want to be considered for the postion because of my sad life story, I just wanted you to understand why I'm here in the first place. The simple answer is: to get away and start a new, simpler life."

"Oh I understand that perfectly, dear. Now, on with the interogation." Narcissa said with a smile. Dani was glad to be moving away from the topic. "What are you feelings toward equality?"

"I think everyone is equal, no matter what. And everyone deserves to be treated with respect: regardless of skin, heritage, preferences, gender, religious affiliation, or anything else. My only issues are with ignorant people, those who _choose_ to not know something; and people who refuse to give someone else equal rights for one of the idiotic reasons I mentioned before." Dani told her. With a smile she added, "I also don't particularly enjoy the company of people that dislike books and reading."

"Good. I agree completely. With everything you said. Especially the book comment." Narcissa gave a hearty laugh as she chose a small cookie from the plate on the table. "And what are your feelings on gossip?"

"Well I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy listening to a bit of gossip about someone I dislike, but I do hate to hear someone telling lies about another person. I detest lies. And when I hear gossip about someone I know I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I tend to correct people when they are misinformed, if you know what I mean." It was true, Dani was known for putting liars in their place and making sure that any misinformation the gossips were spreading was corrected before shutting them down completely. She saw nothing wrong with harmless gossip, _Who's dating who?_ or _Did you hear about so-and-so's little accident at work yesterday?_ , but Dani hated for it to get out of hand.

"Well I certainly cannot fault you there." Narcissa laughed again, "I'm a horrible gossip at times, but I know where to draw the line between harmless and hurtful, as I'm sure you do."

"Oh, yes ma'am. Having been on the wrong side of that line myself, I can tell you it makes it very easy to stay on the safe side of a good gossipy chat."

"I had a few other questions, but I think I can guess what your answers would be from out conversation so far," she took a final sip before sitting her cup down and waving her wand to make it disappear. "Although I do find it odd that you don't like drinking tea," she grinned at Dani again, "I feel that you are an upstanding young woman. And from my perspective, you may fit in nicely here with us at the manor."

"Thank you for the compliment, Narcissa. You seem to be a wonderful woman, and I would be honored to be given the opportunity to work with you on this project and stay here in your lovely home for the duration of my employment." The job came with room and board, and since Dani had no where to go other than a hotel room, that made the job even more enticing. Hell, just getting paid to help the woman research her family history and write a biography about herself and her family was more than Dani could hope for. She enjoyed writting, research, and geneology. This job was perfect for her, and it would keep her away from home for at least a year, which just added a cherry on top as far as she was concerened.

"Well then, if you still want the job, it's yours." Narcissa said simply.

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy... Narcissa. I promise I will be as helpful as possible and do my level best to ensure that your book is finished on time. You won't regret this, I swear." Dani said excitedly as she stood to shake the woman's hand. Now she had a chance to finally make a name for herself in the wizarding world. _Danika Jones, author._ It had a lovely ring to it. Now nothing could go wrong. She had a job doing what she loved, she seemed to have made a new friend in Narcissa, and she was far away from any male distractions. Everything was working out perfectly.

"You are more than welcome, Dani. Now, just let me double check with the house elves about your room and I will escort you upstairs. I do hope you like the room I've chosen for you, but if not, there are a number of other rooms to chose from. You can pick any one you wish."

"Whatever room you chose will be fine, I don't want to inconvenience you by having to have another room made ready. After all, all I really need is a bed, a pillow, and my book collection and I'm basically at home anywhere." And it was true, Dani wasn't one for worrying about material things. She was a simple woman, and far less picky than either of her sisters when it can to her choices.

"Nonsense! You can pick any one. I just felt the need to have one readied near the library. If you want another room for your stay we can always use this one as a smaller working area." Narcissa called to her as she made her way out into the hallway. "I'll be back shortly, dear. Help yourself to a few cookies while you wait." And with that she was gone.

Dani sat down again, chose a cookie from the plate, and began to nibble on it as she thought about the events of the day and the events that had lead her to this job in the first place. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed the roar coming from the fireplace at the end of the room. The green flames of the Floo system died abruptly and and a tall man stepped into the room.

He was strikingly beautiful, pale with white-blonde hair. An angular face with gray eyes turned to face her. He seemed to be surprised by her. Dani's heart stopped for a moment and she forgot to breath when he cocked his head to the side as if considering her. _This must be her son. What was his name?_ Dani searched her memory for the man's name. She knew it. She just couldn't seem to think with him looking at her like he was. _God he's gorgeous!_ Dani felt her cheeks begin to turn red and that spurred her into aciton. She stood and took a step towards him with her hand out in front of her. She stopped when she noticed that the man had removed his want from his pants pocket and was pointing it at her.

"Who the fuck are you and what in the bloody hell are you doing in my house?"he shouted at her.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting of Flirts

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. That honor is JKR's. All I own are my original characters.**

 **A/N: Second chapter. Whoo hoo! Thanks for continuing to read! Enjoy :D**

 **Huge thank you** **Alyce DreamEater** **for being my very first reviewer! I hope I don't disappoint you.**

 **Two Faves and Three Follows! I know this is probably premature but I already feel better about putting my story out there for others to read. Thank you all so much! Cookies for everyone!**

 **And here we go. Chapter 2. Happy reading y'all!**

Chapter 2 : Flirting

Draco continued to point his wand at the intruder. She had stopped abruptly once she had noticed his wand. Her eyes were wide with panic, her breathing was shallow. She opened her mouth and closed it again. Most likely trying to figure out a way to lie out of the trouble she was in. And oh, was she in trouble.

Draco asked her again, "Who are you and why are you in my house?".

"My name is Danika. Danika Jones. I'm here with Mrs. Malfoy. She..." the woman began.

"Funny, my mother told me just this morning that she would be gone today. All day." he knew his mother had business in London. She had never said what that business was, only that it would most likely be an all day trip. He had been glad to hear it. That meant he could come home to an empty house free of any of her silly, blathering friends.

"I swear, Narcissa just stepped out for a moment to speak with her house elves. She'll be back in a moment. I would appreciate it if you would lower your wand and perhaps calm down." the woman said. Draco would have had to been blind to not notice how striking she was. Thief or not, she was beautiful. Her long brown hair fell in waves to her waist and her eyes were a calming chocolate brown.

"I don't think so. My mother is too cautious to leave an unattended stranger in our sitting room. I do believe you are lying, Ms. Jones, if that is even your name." he stepped even closer, noting that her eyes seemed to have golden flecks in them. She glanced at the doorway. That simple eye movement told Draco that she most likely had companions somewhere else in the house, she was not alone. That must be why she had been sitting on the sofa, eating cookies. Someone else was looting the house in another room.

He raised his wand to subdue her quietly, hopefully she would go down quietly and not alert the others. He wanted to at least have a chance of surprising them as well.

" _Petrifi..."_

"DRACO!" His eyes flew toward the doorway to see his mother walking in. She was shouting at him as she entered the sitting room. She was followed by two house elves on either side.

"Mum..." Draco began. He was bewildered by this turn of events. He looked at the stranger in front of him and noticed that she too had her wand drawn. She must have done so when his mother's voice distracted him.

"Dani, please lower you wand. And Draco, you too. Is this anyway to treat a guest in our home?" Narcissa said as she stepped in front of him. She locked eyes with her son and he knew that she was angry. Not at the strange guest, but at him.

"Guest? Mother, who is she?" he asked as he put his want away. Obviously the woman had been telling the truth. "I thought you were to be in London all day?"

"I was. Danika had to go through the ministry to obtain the proper paperwork to enter England. She is my new assistant and biographer, from America. The process usually takes at least a whole day, sometimes longer. Thankfully today seemed to be slower than usual with incoming foreign visitors so it did not take very long at all." her eyes were full of promise, promise of a ear lashing later on in private. Damn.

"I am very sorry Ms. Jones. I jumped to the wrong conclusion and embarassed not only myself but my entire family by acting so ill mannered. I do hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me and put this whole incident behind us." Draco said to Dani as he stepped forward to shake her hand. He looked sincere, his pale skin on his face had a tint of pink to it. He was embarassed. _Well he should be. That was completely uncalled for_. Dani thought.

She sighed and put her lowered wand back in the wand holster tied to her thigh, which meant she had to raise the side of her knee lenght navy skirt. When she finished she looked up at the man in front of her and lifted her hand to shake his only to notice that his eyes were still locked on her leg where she had lifted the skirt to just above her knee.

The thigh holster was the only way she could conveniently carry her wand when she had to dress up. Well the only way to carry it convenientyly and still be able to get to it quickly. She most certainly did not carry her wand in such a way to invite lingering oggling from men. If she wanted to do that she would wear a shorter skirt in the first place.

Dani cocked her eyebrow at the blonde Adonis if front of her once his eyes finally made their way to her face after tracing a slow path up her body from her thigh. Again, he looked into her eyes. Unlike before however, he most certainly did not look embarassed to be caught staring at her, instead he looked a little bit cocky. An arrogant smile graced his gorgeous lips. It infuriated Danika. She was not here to be a bit of eye candy for him to peruse at his leisure. She was here to work for his mother. He should be put in his place. It was one thing to admire a woman, it was another to stare her body down and have the nerve to look so arrogant while one does it.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. I can see no reason to hold your paranoia against you. However, I feel I should warn you: if you ever point your wand in my direction in such a manor again, I will retaliate. And I don't think you will enjoy it." Dani told him.

He cocked his eyebrow at her and smiled that deliciously arrogant smile again. "I am sure I would not, Ms. Jones."

"Now that that is settled. Danika, Dani, I would like to properly introduce you to my son, Draco. Draco, this is Dani. I have hired Dani to assist me in writing the Malfoy/Black biography. I expect you to be a little more curtious and polite to her in the future." Narcissa told her son.

"Of course, mother. As I said, my behavior was poor. And I appoligize to you, mother, as well for embarassing you in front of your guest in such a way." he took his mothers hand and gave it a squeeze. "Am I to assume that Ms. Jones will be staying here with us?"

"Yes, she will be in the guest room nearest to the library and my study, unless she wishes to switch rooms. Draco, would you be so kind as to escort Dani to her room and assist her with taking her luggage upstairs?" her tone brooked no argument. "Dani, we will start work on Monday once you have gotten settled in. Dinner will be served at eight this evening. Regretably, I will have a few guests this evening so dinner will be formal. If you need anything in the meantime, please do not hesitate to ask." Narcissa smiled at her new assistant. The girl was polite, intelligent, and seemed to be very interested in making a new life for herself. _Yes,_ Narcissa Malfoy thought, _she'll be wonderfully helpful in the project. And perhaps, after we are finished, she will remain in England._

"Yes, mother. Ms. Jones, if you will follow me." Draco led Dani to the doorway and into the hall.

The hall was dim. The dark wood panelling on the walls and the dark wood flooring gave it a dim feeling regardless of the number of bewitched candles floating along the wall near the ceiling. Dani got the feeling that unlike the sitting room, which had been done in gold, white, and silver, the hallway was a holdover from a previous time. It didn't have the same newly decorated feeling that the sitting room had.

Draco led her to the staircase, which again was dark. This time, however, it was a rich wood color along the floor and stairs and a white and red runner that ran down the center of the stairs. The walls were lined with paintings of beautiful landscapes, plush rooms, and magical creatures. For some odd reason there seemed to be no paintings of people. _That's odd._ Dani wondered at the absence of any ancestorail paintings. _Since they can move and speak the Malfoy's probably have them placed somewhere away from the traffic. The family was known as being full of hateful people for centuries, they probably got sick of hearing the paintings be assholes every day._ Dani had not noticed the paintings when Narcissa had led her down the hallway to the restroom earlier. Of course, Dani had not noticed that the staircase circled around on the next floor either.

Dani glanced at her guide and couln't help but notice that he had a gorgeous butt to go with the rest of his gorgeous body. She was so enamoured with his back side, she didn't realise that he had stopped, until she plowed into him.

"Whoa there, Danika. We're here." Draco said with a smirk.

"Sorry. I was distracted." Dani muttered. "A little warning would have been nice though."

"I wonder what distracted you..." he mused with a mock thoughtful look. He obviously knew exactly what she had been distracted by. _He thinks he's God's gift to women, of course._

"Nothing remotely important." she said flippantly. She turned the knob on the door and opened it to reveal the most beautiful room she had ever seen in her life. The bed was an antique four poster, covered with pink satin sheets and a fluffy white and pink comforter. The carpet was plush and off-white. Every piece of furniture was a light golden pine, including the honest-to-God vanity next to the French doors that opened onto the balcony.

Dani couldn't help but indulge in every girl's fantasy. She ran and lept onto the huge queen bed, landing on her back amongst the satin pillows. After letting lose a few uncharacteristically girly giggles, she rolled off the side of the bed and planted her feet in the furry carpet. Spreading her arms wide she turned in a slow circle taking in the dreamlike princess room.

A masculine chuckle from the doorway interupted her spinning. Dani blushed red up to her hairline and stumbled into the bed post.

"For some reason, I didn't think you were the giggling girly type. But I have been surprised before." Draco said from where he leaned against the doorway.

"You have no idea what type of anything I really am. For all you know I have an extensive Hello Kitty collection and spend my weekends watching My Little Pony while wearing a fuzzy pink robe and matching slippers." Dani said suddenly feeling a little flirty. She gave the attractive man in her doorway a coy smile and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"True... but then again, the wand in a thigh holster is a little more femme fatal than Hello Kitty." Draco said, taking a long and lingering look at her legs again. His eyes snapped back to her face when she cleared her throat. She was used to men staring at her chest, but her legs had had their fair share of attention in her life. Also, the top she was wearing didn't give him a view of her breasts the way the skirt did of her legs.

Dani was far from vain or conceited, but she did recognize that she posessed quite a few nice physical attributes. While her tummy might have been a bit rounder than society said it should be she had never actually heard any complaints about her body. Not that she would have listened to anyone who did complain, she had more self-esteem than some other people thought she should have. She was more than happy with her curvy body. She may not have had a thigh gap or a flat belly, but she did have, in her opinion, lusciously thick thighs and boobs that made more than one of her friends jealous.

In fact, the man in front of her seemed to appreciate her legs and so far had not given her fluffy tummy any less than desirable glances. Maybe he appreciates a curvy lady. Not that it mattered, he was her employer's son. That made him open for flirting, and closed for anything further. Unfortunately.

"Mr. Malfoy, while I do appreciate the fact that you seem to find my legs hard to keep your eyes off of, I would like it very much if you would refrain from staring. Has no one ever told you that it is better to make subtle glances at a woman's body rather than all-out leering?" Dani gave another flirty laugh and looked at Draco's face.

What she saw there made the laughter die in her throat and her mouth go dry. He was staring straight into her eyes and Dani felt like he was looking at her soul. Taking inventory of every dirty fantasy she had ever had and file them away in his own memory. The look in his eyes caused a shiver to race down her spine and goosebumps to break out along her skin. Pure lust. She had never seen a man look at any woman that way. Like she was a meal he planned to savor for hours.

When he finally spoke, after what seemed like hours of staring into her eyes, his voice came out hoarse. Barely more than a whisper. A whisper which crawled along her skin and sank into her body, only to settle in that intimate place bellow her naval.

"Ms. Jones, I find that it difficult to keep from staring at your luscious body. If you find this disturbing, then I appologize. Not for my staring, but for you being uncomfortable with my staring." He stepped closer to her until they were only inches apart. His hand came up to brush a wavy lock of brown hair from her forehead. Dani's sudden intake of breath at this caused her to breath in the scent of him. Strong. Manly. Expensive. And sex. Pure, unfiltered, unappologetic sex.

Dani took a shakey breath and broke they eye contact that was making her feel hot. She took a hesitant step back and then another before she spoke.

"I never said that I find it disturbing or uncomfortable, Mr. Malfoy. In fact, I think I might just enjoy your staring a little bit too much." she said as she turned and fled to the en suit bathroom to begin unpacking. After a couple of minutes, Dani heard the door close and finally was able to take a full deep breath. _That man is going to cause me to lose my head if I'm not careful. I've only been here a few hours. How in the hell am I going to survive a whole year with him in the same house?_

 **Okay, so this capter was a bit longer than the first one. I know it seems like I'm moving very quickly into the romance portion of this story but please bear with me. I promise that there will be plenty of flirting before we get down to the sexy stuff. Personally, I have always enjoyed the flirting part of any courtship the most.**

 **Unfortunately, I will** **most likely be unable to write or post much of anything tomorrow** **as I have plans with my mother. However, my munchkin will be spending the weekend away from home and my husband will be busy hunting this weekend so I do believe** **I will be writing and posting chapters just as quickly as possible from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon** **(I have a baby shower to attend for my best friend. Godson number 2 is on his way. YIPPY!).**

 **Please remember to let me know what you think, feel, like, dislike, ect. in the review. I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! Until next time!**


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